Son of War
by Max248
Summary: A story of three demigods trying to rescue a powerful warrior reborn, and then stop him being a pawn to the Olympians and Titans, while fighting for Camp Half-Blood against the Titans.
1. Chapter 1

Achilles was probably the favorite son of Mars. He fought a lot. He set fire to things. He did everything a child of Mars was supposed to do. He had pale skin, grey-blue eyes and long, messy brown hair that  
didn't suit Mars' military uniform style, but then again, Mars wasn't the best dad. His mum regretted having him and left him in a ditch at six, along with a suit of heavy armour and a mace. They had been birthday gifts from his dad, for his first and fifth birthday. The armour was pretty cool. It was some sort of black iron covered with short spikes along most of it, and larger, gold spikes on the shoulder, wrists and boots. There was a small circular shield with larger spikes on his left wrist to act as a shield. It was completely black, except for part of the boot, the heel, which was gold. He assumed that was supposed to highlight it, telling him to mind his weaknesses, his Achilles' heel.

His dad must have a bad sense of humor. I mean, who names a kid after a guy with a huge weakness, then highlights where it was? Also, the armour must have been magic, or something, because he started wearing it when he was six, and two years later, it still fit. The other thing he woke up with was his mace, the Fist of Mars. It was iron, as well, with a deep red leather handle that seemed to morph to his grip, and several brutal spikes sticking out. Etched in was a skull pattern in glowing, blood red patterns. Looking at it could really make you want to start screaming. It was fun. Also, when you pressed he skull's right eye, it morphed into a spiked knuckleduster which he could slip onto his armour. Then, he pulled the leather handle to make a mace again. It was a pretty good gift. Of course, it turned out he needed it. After trying to find somewhere to go, he came across a snake girl. She seemed nice, until she tried to kill him and he beheaded her. Then, naturally she turned into a pile of ash. That made corpse disposal a breeze, which was also what it took to get rid of the dust.

He spent a year on the run, but finally came across a pack of coyotes, which was weird, because he was in a New York suburbs. And the pack leader of the coyotes was a giant, black wolf demon. It looked angry. Then the pack chased him into an abandoned apartment building. Then he ran out to the parking lot and tried not to cry. And that was everything that happened up to now. He desperately swung his mace at a coyote, and the black spikes passed through it. That happened to normal things. Then, the smaller spiked steel ball embedded inside the black iron and killed the coyote. He dodged another, but the giant attack dog pounced on him. He struggled under its weight, but he couldn't escape. Then he heard a terrified, confused shout as the demon dog fell off him. Achilles got up and looked around. Arrows embedded the concrete and the coyotes and giant dog. He looked around, and saw a slightly tall, skinny  
kid with short blond hair wave at him.

"Hey! Did you see the monster dog? Please tell me you saw the monster dog, and not a puppy or something."  
"You kill monsters?" Achilles asked.  
The kid smiled.

"Come up here and I'll show you."  
Achilles shrugged, and walked up the narrow concrete stairs and arrived at a small room with a bunch of bows and arrows.  
"I'm Connor. So, you can see the monsters? Normal people can't see them."  
Achilles raised an eyebrow.  
"And you're not normal?"  
"My dad's the sun god." Connor said, looking embarrassed.  
"Your dad's Apollo? So you've fought Mythological Monsters? You know all that stuff's real?"  
"Yeah. How come you see them?"  
"My dad's Mars. I'm Achilles."  
"Are you on the run, too?"  
"Yeah. I have my truth mace, though. It was a gift from my dad."  
"All my dad got me is a Riddles Book and a bird. The bird keeps me company, though. It does get lonely."  
Achilles thought for a minute.  
"You could come with me. It'd be nice to have someone watching my back."  
Connor broke into a grin.  
"Sure. I'll pack my stuff!"  
For the next five minutes he ran around, frantically trying to pick up loose arrows and put them in his quiver, and loading his bows into a duffle-bag. Then he grabbed an old yellow riddle book and a bronze  
cage with a small chick inside, colored red, orange and gold.

"It's a Phoenix." He explained. "Its name is Charlie."  
Achilles smirked.  
"Who names a Phoenix Charlie?"  
"Who has armour that shows their weak point?"  
"The heel is my namesake's weak point! This is symbolic!"  
Connor smiled, and looked out the window.  
"We should go. I smell monsters."  
"Let's move."

Achilles and Connor ducked into an alley and ran into the camp. It was a group of tents and sleeping bags around a small open area and a few fires. Connor pulled of his helmet, which had been torn apart from the Sphinx that had been chasing them.  
"What now, Achilles? It's too dark to keep moving."  
"We stay here. Borrow some sleeping bags, get some sleep and move out at dawn."  
"What about the sphinx?" Connor asked.  
"It'll need to find somewhere to rest. It won't keep following us with an arrow in its paw and a broken nose."  
Achilles walked over to a fire, where several men and woman were huddled, trying to keep warm. Achilles walked over to a girl about their age, and smiled at her. She was covered in dirt and wore a white hoodie and had her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was small, and was looking at them suspiciously while chewing a stick of bubblegum.  
"What are you wearing?" She asked Achilles.  
"What does it look like?" He replied, wondering what see saw through the mist.  
"Armour. It looks like armour. And you have weapons. What, we're you at a play?"  
Connor raised his spear defensively, and Achilles stared at her.  
"Are you like me, or them?" She asked, as she slowly reached for her backpack.

Achilles swung his mace to knock the backpack away, but she pulled out a sword and swung it at him. He deflected, and Connor jabbed at her knees, knocking her to the ground.  
"Who are you?" Achilles asked. "Don't lie. We're like you. Kind of."

"I'm Anna, Daughter of Athena."  
"Really? Another child of the gods. I'm Achilles, Mars' Son. That's Connor, Son of Apollo."  
"Nice mace. Where did you get it?"  
"Where'd you get the sword?" Achilles asked.  
He looked down at the sword. It was a short, powerful golden Calvary sword, with a bright red handle and silver trim.  
"You don't really need to know that, do you?" She said. "You can stay here, if you want. I've made sure it's secure for the night."  
"Thanks. Where are you heading?"  
"No where in particular."  
"Do you want to come with us?"  
She paused, and looked at the small amount of rags and a sleeping bag that made her beds  
"Wouldn't mind someone guarding my flank. I can barely take I the monsters as it is. I'm not a fighter. I steal, sprint and sneak my way around. Fine, I'll come."  
She grabbed two old sleeping bags and threw hem next to her. Then she smiled.  
"Bye the way, my name's Taylor, Daughter of Hermes."  
"I thought you said you were Anna." Connor asked.  
"I did. But I lied. That's Hermes for you."

The group stayed together for several years. Connor was the Range, Achilles the Melee and Taylor the Sneaking. They escaped, killed and trapped monsters, making their way from place to place. Then, on Achilles' thirteenth birthday, they came across the Demigod. Connor and Taylor were still twelve, as Achilles was the oldest by three months. They were taking a Taxi ride to New York. Then they noticed the Demigod. He had short black hair, was about fifteen and wore bronze armour. He had an axe, and was forcing two kids that were about fourteen, into the basement of a small house.

"Do you see that?" Taylor asked, nodding towards the Demigod.  
"Pull over here. Pay the man, Connor." Achilles said, and the Taxi stopped.  
Achilles, Connor and Taylor got out, and Connor gave the Taxi Driver a few crumpled up bills. They walked towards the door to the basement, and drew their weapons. Achilles kicked the door open and they charged in. the basement was a large area, with a rack of bronze swords in a weapons rack. A quiver of bronze arrows hung from a pool table, another guy in bronze armour with greasy brown hair stood behind a small bar area, pouring two glasses of cola. The Demigod turned and slashed, and Taylor dodged, before hitting his hand and breaking his wrist. The Demigod yelled and dropped his sword. Achilles entered and slammed into the demigod and sent he first demigod into the pool table with his shoulder spikes, and then grabbed him and slammed him into the pool table repeatedly. Then Connor entered and fired a bronze, sphere tipped arrow at the demigod at the bar, who fell backwards into an  
open fridge.  
"Tie them up and put them next to the others." Achilles said.  
Taylor and Connor took out lengths of rope and tied the men up and set them on their knees.  
"Who are you?" Achilles asked, raising his mace and lightly tapping the one of their heads.  
"I'm Castor. This is Sarah. Thanks for help. Can you untie us now?"  
"Don't. They're blind to the treachery of Olympus."  
"What? Who are you guys?"  
"We're Revolutionaries. Kids like you. The Army of Kronos. I mean, how many times have you needed help when the gods didn't help. And yes, the gods are real."  
Taylor held the sword to Castor's throat.  
"And you are?"  
"We're from Camp Half-Blood. If you're who I think you are, we take in kids like you. It's the only safe place in the world for kids like you."  
"The gods are traitors! They punished Prometheus for giving man fire! How can you follow them!?"  
"Shut up." Achilles said, kicking him in the side of the head.  
"So..." Connor started. "There's a rebellion for the gods. Not only are there kids like us, but they're on both sides."  
"Who do we help?" Taylor asked.  
Achilles paused. When had the gods helped him? Never. Then again, he had been helped in mysterious ways. Once a river had swelled and swept away a giant crab chasing them. Another time, the wind changed direction and a group of monsters lost their scent. Maybe the gods weren't as useful as they could be, but they got the job done and Achilles didn't like change.  
"Untie the Loyalists. Leave the rebels."  
Taylor raised an eyebrow, but then slashed her sword and cut the ropes off Anna and Castor. He smiled, and picked up the two rebels and dragged them outside.  
"Thanks." Anna said. "We were on a scouting mission that went bad. We'll show you the way to Camp."  
"What do we do with the prisoners? We can't take them back in a cab."  
Anna paused and thought for a minute.  
"Leave them here, but take whatever weapons and armour there is."  
Castor grabbed a sack from the basement and started collecting weapons. Anna led then outside and called a cab. She paid the driver with a twenty dollar note and Castor stepped in. He told the driver where to go, and Achilles took off some of his armour and lay back. Connor took out a bag of Doritos ad started munching happily, but Taylor kept her sword pressed at the back of Castor's seat, ready to stab him through the back if needs be. After about an hour, Achilles realized that the Loyalists didn't seem tense, or even nervous. Castor was playing the drums on the dashboard with two daggers and Anna was  
attempting to feed Charlie the Phoenix some jelly beans. Achilles took off most of his armour and pulled out his iPod, an old battered machine he had stolen from a Cyclops Lair and used the Cyclops' music account, oneeyedmusicfrek , to download some music. He didn't think monsters liked music, but the Cyclops had over a hundred songs on the Cyclops's account, so he guessed they did. The Taxi pulled up at a hill with a large pine tree on it. He stepped out of the cab, and realized he was in the ideal spot for an ambush, and was only wearing half his armour. He pulled on his knuckleduster to make his  
mace, but castor just started walking up the hill.  
"Come on. It's just over the hill." Achilles followed him, pulling on his armor. He reached the top of the hill and looked down. At first, he only saw some strawberry fields and a big, threes storey house, but  
then the mist cleared and he got his first look at Camp Half-Blood.


	2. Chapter 2

Castor led Achilles, Taylor and Connor to the Big House. Outside was a man in a wheelchair, who reminded him of a Generic Professor. Castor nodded to the man, who looked at him.  
"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. You are special. Have you ever wondered why strange...?"  
"Gods are real, they have kids, we're some of them. Done."  
"Since you children already know about the gods, Castor will show you the Orientation Film. Before you leave, what are your names? I am Chiron, the camp activities director."  
"My name's Connor. My dad's Apollo.  
"I'm Taylor, Daughter of Hermes."  
"Achilles. Achilles, son of Mars."  
"Ares." Chiron corrected. "It's good that you know your parents. Easier on Hermes' Cabin. Did you say you were named Achilles?"  
"Yes. Yes, I'm Achilles."  
"I taught an Achilles, once. A great, smart boy. Slept a lot, after his bath in the Underworld. But a good student. If you are anything like the original, it will be a pleasure to teach up you. Castor, will you take them to the film?"  
Castor nodded, and walked off.

The Orientation Film was boring. It showed smiling children picking strawberries, Satyr's dancing with Tree Nymphs, Demigods fighting in the forest, then a view of a flying Pegasus with a Camper on it's back. Then Castor had given them a tour of the grounds and showed them to their cabins.  
"You'll stay here. Each Camper has their own cabin, decided by their godly parent." He showed them to a big, gold building that was painfully bright. Apollo's Cabin. Connor looked at Achilles and Taylor, and gave them each a hug. Then, a tanned kid with sunglasses and slicked back blond hair appeared in the doorway. He welcomed Connor, and they disappeared from view. Next, he led them to a normal building, a classic summer camp building. Castor led them into the building, where kids were packed in every centimeter.  
"New Kid!" Castor yelled. "Permanent!"  
Two kids appeared, grinning. They looked identical, with elfish features and a smell of paint coming off them.  
"Hello, Sis!" One said happily. "Welcome to the Cabin!"  
"I'll leave you with the Stoll brothers." Castor said, before leading Achilles to a brutal building that emanated hatred and War.  
"Ares' cabin. Your new home."  
Achilles didn't like it. It was a building of war, yes, but it was more of a Barbarian Berserker war. Not order. Not the might of the organized Military that Mars represented. Then again, this wasn't Mars. This was Ares. They seemed like different people. The building was red and looked like it was covered in blood splatters. Barbed Wire covered the roof, and a stuffed Boar's head hung above the door. Castor led him inside, where a girl with brown, mousy hair and muscles that practically ripped brought her orange shirt appeared, but her eyes were puffy and she looked like she had been crying.  
"He an Ares camper?" She asked. "I've seen bugs bigger."  
She pointed to a bunk bed, and snarled.  
"Sleep there. I'm Clarisse, and I'm the boss here, OK? I say jump, you say how high? Got it?"  
"Not my problem who wants to be leader. Nice spear." Achilles said. He threw his bag and most of his armour on the bunk bed, before surveying the room. There was a locked cabinet that was labeled "ARMOURY" and a big map with little figurines on it, with archers, Calvary and foot soldiers in different positions. Several partly destroyed training dummies were nailed to the wall, and demigods were slashing and hacking at them with swords. Then a big, heavy kid with short black hair appeared, and knocked into him.  
"Watch where you're going, freak."  
The Kid pushed him onto the bed, before grabbing his breastplate.  
"Awesome gear. I'm going to borrow it, OK?"  
"Put it down." Achilles said quietly.  
"Let me think about that. No." He said, before laughing.  
Achilles put on his knuckleduster and punched the kid repeatedly in the stomach, before grabbed him in a head lock and pressing his thumb into the kid's throat.  
"Do not mess with me." Achilles said, before dropping him on the floor.  
Clarisse walked over, and looked at them.  
"You've been here a few minutes, and you've already fought and beat Kieran? At least we know you haven't been placed in the wrong cabin. Kieran, you're on dish duty for the week. Don't pick a fight you can't win. Ares' Cabin! Move! We have Mythology now."

They shared Mythology Class with Athena cabin for the day. As Achilles was new, a Faun, no he called himself a Satyr, named Tony took him and young kid from Athena cabin and went through the basics. He listed out the twelve gods and their sacred animals, what they represented and other useless information. Then he gave a quick description of Heracles, which was the original name of Hercules, the greatest Demigod ever. He sounded pretty cool, but Achilles couldn't get past the fact he killed his entire family.  
After that he went out on the canoe lake, where he sank his canoe. The last class was Monster Fighting Techniques, where he learned the names of the most common monsters. The big black dogs were Hellhounds. The Snake ladies were Dracaena. The giant cannibals were Laistrygonian Giants.

Then a conch horn sounded, and Ares Cabin formed a line, with Clarisse at the front and him at the back. They marched to an open pavilion with wooden tables and golden goblets placed on them. On the wooden tables, Achilles counted twelve or them, were barbecue, cheeses and fresh fruit. He sat down, and an Ares kid nudged him.

"Ask the goblet for the drink, get your food and burn some of it in the fire." She said.

"Seriously? Cranberry Juice and Cola." He said to the goblet that filled with a deep red-brown colored drink.

Achilles smiled, and grabbed some barbecued chicken and roast potatoes. He got up and followed the cabin to a big bronze brazier where he shoved some food into the fire. Then he sat down and began to eat. He noticed Connor at Apollo's table, eating a huge plate of ham and sausages, and knocking back liters of cola. It always amazed him that Connor was the size he is despite what he ate. He saw Taylor with a Hermes boy, who were laughing. Achilles didn't like that. Sure, Taylor was only his friend, but... He really didn't like that. After dinner, he watched Clarisse and a few of his stronger cabin mates played in the volleyball league, and a Nymph taught him the basics of volleyball. Then they joined the other campers for a campfire sing-along. The fire glowed gold but was small enough. One of the campers told him it reflected their moods, but he didn't know why people were slightly happy. Most of the campers sang happily, but he didn't. He hated singing, and met up with Connor and Taylor. Connor had Horton pretty popular showing everyone Charlie the Phoenix, and Taylor had stolen herself a new pair of Snake earrings, little green and silver ones. Achilles thought they made her look cute, but he couldn't exactly say that.

"That concludes our campfire sing-along!" Chiron said at the end of the night.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Taylor said with a smile.

"We all have beginner's Pegasus training." Connor said. "We'll see each other then."

Achilles got up and nodded to them, before walking off to join his cabin.

When Achilles woke up, he put on an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans that he borrowed from the camp store, as well as black leather combat boots. He followed the rest of his cabin to the Stables, where they met up with Dionysius, Apollo and Hermes cabin, and then split up. The more advanced riders rode off towards the lake to practice, while the younger kids were taught the basics by an Aphrodite girl.

Pegasus Riding was taught by Silena Beauregard. As an Aphrodite girl she was surprisingly nice compared to the others. She led out two horses, one brown and gold that nuzzled her effectively, and the other was white with a grey mane. She showed him how to mount Pegasi, and from there he nearly broke his neck several times. He went through pretty much every Pegasus in the stable. They were all to peaceful or undisciplined. None of them suited him. Connor worked best with the chariots, and Taylor found a beautiful white horse with a gleaming mane that suited her perfectly. Achilles let out a silent prayer to Mars to help him find a good horse, and they entered the big house for a short break.

"I'll get you some lemonade." She said, before bringing out a tray of drinks and cookies.

They had a glass of lemonade and a small cookie each, before walking outside Silena let out a scream, as a new Pegasus swooped down. It was black and deep red, with a blood red tail and mane that were on fire. It had a black leather saddle with bronze studs on it's back. It's wings were black and red and alight, making it burn like an angel of death. It rode up to Achilles and flapped his wings, engulfing him in flames. Achilles yelled, but when the flames disappeared, he appeared completely unscathed. It dropped a letter in Achilles' hand. He opened an Eagle seal on the front and read it.

"Heard your prayer. Got you one of my horses, Aithon. Horse of War. Enjoy it. M."

Achilles pulled himself on the horse, and Aithon's fire licked his wrists. He winced, but he couldn't feel the fire, only a slight and pleasant warmth.

"Is that a Pegasus?" Silena asked.

"Looks like one. His name is Aithon."

"Where... Where did you get it?"

"Mars. It's the Pegasus that symbolizes War, one of my Dad's steeds. I think he's related to me. Creepy, huh?"

"This is so cool!" Connor yelled. "It's a flaming Pegasus!"

Achilles lightly kicked the Pegasus' side, and it galloped forward and jumped. He flew into the air and yelled. Aithon snorted, blowing wisps of flames out his nostrils. Aithon flew high into the air, before diving and pulling up at the last second. Achilles thought Aithon was awesome. He was tame and disciplined, but still wild and daring enough to fly high and fast enough to pull off whatever Achilles wanted. He flew through the air and banked right, but his boot slipped out of the stirrup and he hung off, before groaning and pulling himself back on. Then he dove towards the ground and landed. He rubbed Aithon's nose, before grabbing a sugar cube and holding it out in front of him.

"This is really, really awesome." Achilles said, and Aithon nuzzled into him.

Then a panicked Satyr arrived.

"We're all gonna die! Everyone is dead!" He screamed. "That's a flaming pony! What is happening?!"

Silena stepped forward and slapped the satyr hard.

"Dominic! Why are you freaking out!?"

"Chiron's calling a War Council. Camp is going to be attacked by he Titan Army. They're using the Labyrinth!"


	3. Chapter 3

"We need to hold camp!" Chiron said.

He was standing in the dining pavilion, as a Centaur, because Centaurs can go into wheelchairs easily. Of course they can. Achilles had nearly forgotten the Chiron who taught his namesake was a Centaur.

"We are going to hold this camp. I want every available camper ready to defend Zeus' Fist."

"Will Kronos lead the attack?" Lee Fletcher, the head of Apollo asked. "We all heard he's rising."

"We believe he is still weak. But he might. We just don't know."

"Why don't we blow it up?" Jake Mason asked.

"It will just move somewhere else. Better we know where they'll come from. Get armed, and do whatever the Head Councilors tell you to. The greatest of luck to you. For Olympus!"

"For Olympus!" The Campers yelled.

Weapons appeared on the tables. Achilles watched them, and then noticed a sawn-off shotgun, and picked it up.

"It fires Celestial Bronze." Chiron said. "Not all campers enjoy swords. Take the gun if you need it."

Achilles put the gun in a newly appeared holster in his armour that he was sure wasn't there before. He had put his armour on before Chiron's speech, and grabbed a small box of bronze shotgun shells, and put them in his backpack, which contained everything he owned, including a long, curved bronze knife, a small, compact Mahogany Bow with a small quaver of bronze arrows, a spare set of clothes, a box of matches and a jar of Greek Fire, and a sprig of Lavender, because apparently Monsters dislike the smell of Lavender, and he liked it, so no downside.

Then he helped Castor carry a large wooden spike from he armoury out to the forests, outside a pile of rocks that looked like deer poop, that was known as Zeus' Fist. The he helped castor plant the stake in a defensive wall.

"Thanks." Castor said. "I'm Pollux. You?"

"What? I thought you were Castor!"

He laughed.

"I'm Pollex. Castor's my twin brother. We're children of Dionysius."

Achilles pulled out a long, curved bronze knife out of his boot and began sharpening the stake. Then he jogged back to his cabin and pulled out a jar of Greek Fire from the Ares Armoury, helping the rest of his cabin move the Greek Fire out to Zeus' Fist. Then Hephaestus Cabin took the Greek Fire, and used it in the traps they were making. Achilles was kind of annoyed that he was busy working and preparing defenses, while the better Veteran Campers were taking rests so they'd be ready for the fight. Ares Cabin and a few children from Minor Gods like Nemesis and Nike were the only ones excited about the battle, and even a few of them seemed uneasy. Later in the day, a group of Demigods arrived, that everyone seemed to know. There was a Goth Kid, the Head Athena Cabin, a Baby Cyclops who he was told not to kill, a Satyr saying over and over again that Pan was dead and finally a Son of Poseidon. Then, they took up defenses, and waited. He would be part of the defense of the first three waves, then the counter-charge and then take Calvary Charge with Aethon. Of course, he knew many of the Campers would panic, forget what they're doing or simply be too busy fighting. But he didn't bother saying that.

"They're coming! Hold the line!" Clarisse yelled.

Then the monsters hit them. Achilles yelled and raised his wrist-shield, blocking a shard of glass from a car shield used by a Laistrygonian. He realized by had an advantage: the monsters had no plan, no waves of assault, and planned to take the camp with brute force. He swung his mace and caught a Laistrygonian in the knee and hit him in the stomach repeatedly, causing the giant to grunt and lower his shield, and immediately several bronze arrows spurred from his chest, and he fell, dissolving in mid-air. Then Achilles roared, and shattered a Hellhound's jaw before dodging a javelin. Then he rolled to the side, and as the waves of monsters stopped momentarily, he joined a desperate counter charge led by Charlie Beckendorf that managed to push back the monsters to the boulders, but then they were met by a pack of Hellhounds, a platoon of Dracaena, a squadron of Half-Blood Rebels and a small horde of Laistrygonian Giants. Achilles retreated to a dirt wall with bronze tipped spikes, and manger to hold off off a group of Dracaena for a few minutes, until he managed to set off a Jar of Greek Fire, that incinerated them instantly.

"Hold them off! Where is the Calvary? Silena, get the Pegasi!"

Several Pegasi swooped down and Achilles spotted and leaped onto Aethon, and he dived down to smash his mace into a Laistrygonian giant and Aethon kicked a demigod in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. Aethon snorted and Achilles swung his mace repeatedly again and again, killing enemies with every stroke. Then he saw a Laistrygonian hurl a length of chain at him. The chain wrapped around Aethon's back legs and wings. Aethon slammed into the dirt, and two demigods ran up to him. One dragged him out, and the other raised a short sword to slit his throat.

Then a bronze figure slammed into the rebel. It was Castor. Castor slammed a large club with bronze studs and whacked the other demigod in the side of the head. Achilles struggled to escape from under Aethon, who was still trying to escape the chains. Castor and the Rebel struggle against each other. Achilles escaped from under Aethon, just as the rebel slid his sword into Castor's chest. Achilles yelled and knocked the rebel to the ground and knocked him out with one blow to the head. Then he checked for Castor's pulse. There was none. He roared and smashed the rebel into chest repeatedly, before using his knife to release Aethon. He heard the other rebel cry out in pain, and he saw Aethon's fire had started burning his cheek. Aethon's fire only effected enemies. Cool. Aethon kicked off the ground and Achilles jumped on him. They flew off into the air, and Achilles surveyed the carnage before diving to avoid a volley of arrows. He saw Taylor slash at two Hellhounds that were pushing her away from the main group. He dove down and slammed his mace into one of their heads as it fell, unconscious, and the other looked at him, distracted. Smiling at the opportunity, Taylor stabbed the hellhound through the side of the head as it turned to dust.

"Thanks. Bad dog." She said, kicking the monster dust.

Then Kampê stuck. She like a green dragon with the torso of a woman and a head like Medusa. Fused between her human and dragon parts was a belt of animal heads tht kept changing. She was one of the worst monsters he'd ever seen. A group of Apollo campers charged forward, firing arrows at Kampê's head, but she deflected hem with her two Scimitars that glowed faint green with poison. She growled, and preceded to slash at the archers with her poisoned swords, and Achilles saw Connor stumble away, choking on the poisonous fumes from the swords. Achilles sprinted over and grabbed him, before dragging him behind an Oak tree. Tape took out a small vial of Nectar and placed a few drops in Connor's mouth, and he spluttered to life.

"Guys, that stuff is lethal." He said, coughing.

Taylor rolled to the side to avoid a javelin. Achilles lifted Connor up, and he nodded.

"Thanks." He said. "What are we going to do about Kampê?"

He looked at Kampê, who was now fighting more demigods.

"Leave her to the others. We're rookies, remember." He ran forward and battered a Dracaena in the head and threw it onto the spear of another. He dived away as a jar of Greek Fire exploded, engulfing a group of Dracaena. He turned as a huge group of boulders fell through the air and hit Kampê, killing her and leaving her under a huge pile of rocks the size slightly smaller than Zeus' Fist. He looked to where the boulders came from. There was a huge giant with dozens and dozens of arms, as well as an old man, and a large Hellhound.

They immediately joined the fight, but to Achilles' surprise, they didn't fight for the Rebels. The giant started flinging boulders at the largest of the Hellhounds and Laistrygonian Giants, the Hellhound began tackling the Traitor Demigods and tearing through groups or Dracaena, and the old man moved remarkably well, slashing and hacking with his sword. Achilles climbed onto Aethon, followed by Taylor, riding her pearl white Pegasus with a gold-white mane. Connor, who had no flying skills whatsoever, climbed on the back of War, and whimpered at the flames. Then he pulled out his bow and started firing down at the battle.

The battle was going well. The campers had stopped being pushed back and advanced, pushing the monsters back. Then he heard a terrible sound, like an cat in a blender in a pit filled wih chainsaws. Like pure fear. Aethon snorted furiously and dived, and Achilles yelled and pulled on the reins. Aethon landed and he rubbed his neck, before dismounting. The Monsters and Traitor Half-Bloods were panicking, desperately retreating into the labyrinth. The Campers were cheering, firing loose arrows after them and roaring curses and threats. Connor and Achilles gave each other high five's, and Achilles turned and tried to hug Taylor, but they awkwardly hanged positions and their lips met.

It was awkward, for a second, but then she wrapped her arms around him and it was nice for another three seconds, and then an arrow embedded itself in his back, and he fell to one knee and she let go. He turned and saw a tall, skinny figure in bronze armour that covered its face. He noticed another arrow embedded in Connor's helmet, and Connor looked at it nervously. The armoured warrior waved at them to come over, and they cautiously approached, their weapons drawn. Then the figure turned and ran off. Achilles looked at Connor.

"Retreat?" Connor asked nervously.

Achilles smiled at him and ran after the warrior. Achilles, Connor and Taylor ran after him, until they came across a small opening in the trees, where a group of around a dozen warriors were waiting, all armoured in bronze and brandishing spears, swords or bows.

"Stay still." One said in a cold, raspy voice.

Achilles turned to run, but another group of warriors blocked him off.

"Which one of you is Achilles?" One asked.

"Me. How do you know who I am?"

"It is a pleasure to meat you, Achilles, the Son of the War God." One said stepping forward. Then he clubbed him over the head with his sword.

"That's for the war, Achilles." He said.

Achilles fell back and struggled to remain conscious. The Warrior looked at him and kicked him, and Achilles was out cold.


	4. Chapter 4

Davis and Son was a small bar in a bad neighborhood, the exact place you'd make sure your kids never, ever go. But Mars was that kind or guy: the kind of guy who sends his kids to buy assault rifles, or find his other kids who he had never told him about. A dead beat God. Still, he was the God of War, and Achilles didn't want to burn alive, so he pushed open the door.

The first thing that struck him was the smell. The place smelled like cigarettes, beer, rotting meat and monsters. The second thing that struck him was the butt of a shotgun that hit him in the chest.

"Get the hell out of here!" The shotgun wielder yelled.

Achilles shoved the shotgun out of his face and head-butted the man in the gut.

"My Dad said you can help us. Big guy, probably back from crushing people with one thumb."

The man put down the gun and smiled. He looked about forty, and had balding red hair. He wore an old army jacket and jeans, and was short and bulky.

"Ah! You're the demigods! Your Father saved my dad's neck in Vietnam. Some son of Nemesis was executing... oh, it doesn't matter. Welcome to Davis and Son!"

Achilles looked around. There was a Dracaena in a skirt and jumper at a booth with a guy who looked like a hippy, wearing multicolored clothes, who looked like they were flirting. A large, icy blue Hyperborean Giant was drinking pints of beer and smoking a huge cigar, and a bloody Satyr was doing shots with a drunk Centaur while another Satyr lay unconscious on the floor. A Cyclopes was feeding a Hellhound on a leash that barely fit in the pub some steak.

"What is this place?"

"A Bar who those who are... Different! No mortals, only Gods, Monsters, Nature spirits and Heroes! Two drink minimum for Automatons."

"Oh. Ok. That's... Cool."

"We have your horses out back. We'll be feeding you and giving you a bed tonight. I'll get Dad, he'd love to meet you."

He turned, and walked off behind the counter. Achilles turned to Connor.

"Do we leg it?"

"Yea... No. I'm not angering your dad. He wants us to stay, we stay. Dude's waiting for a chance to kill me."

A Harpy in battle armor with a bronze scythe on her back entered, and sat at the table.

"What a day! The damn demigods wanted me to polish their armor again! Kronus didn't mention working for children of the bloody gods!" She said, grabbing a coke and placing a dollar on the counter.

"Should we kill her? She's the enemy."

Taylor pointed to a sign on the wall that said "No killing, no Mortals, no outside food.

"They even have a sign telling us not kill. Interesting."

"I hope they have ambrosia and nectar. What dies it taste like for you guys? I had cherry Bon-Bons and icy Orange juice like we found in that supermarket with the ghost manager. Delicious."

"Steak. And Oreo Milkshake. I could eat that all day."

"It astounds me you're not the size of a house." Connor said, before getting kicked in the leg. "I'm kidding! What about you, Achilles?"

"Cranberry juice and cupcakes. Best combo ever."The bartender appeared with an old man who wore a huge smile.

"Kids! I'm Davis, the bar owner, son of Fortuna. You're Mars' son, right? He saved my ass in 'Nam. Nemesis' brat, some officer in with the Vietcong was executing captured soldiers, so I led a some guys out to kill him. He led us straight into an ambush. We lost a lot of good men, and I got hit in leg. While I was lying, covered in blood, I prayed to Mars. Then, some guy in fatigues appeared with a flamethrower and fried them to Hades, leaving Nemesis' kid. Then one of my mates came in with an M16, shot him straight through the chest, carried me back to base. I met the guy later, and he told me he was Mars, and I owe him a favor. This is it."

He pulled up his pants, revealing a prosthetic leg.

"Got it amputated after that. So that's why I'm giving you this place to stay, in case you're suspicious. Which, if you're a true demigod, you should be. I'll be seeing you around. Marcus will get you some food and a room. Bye, kids."

He walked off, and his son, Marcus, showed them to a table, and they sat down.

"What's that?" Taylor asked, pointing to a dark brown stain on the chair cushion.

"I think it was a cat. Then it was dinner. Now it's a stain."

"OK then." Taylor said, looking at the stain distastefully.

"I'll get you some dinner. We have a spare bedroom upstairs when you want to sleep. There's a sofa and a bed. I need to get back to bar after I get you food." Marcus said, before walking off.

Achilles took out a map of the East Coast out of his bag, and laid it out on the table.""We can probably ride the Pegasi to Atlanta, find a lift from there and get to Orlando using... We'll find something. Then we find Ezio, and... I assume we'll be dead by then. So we hope we go to Elysium. That's the plan.""So... Remind me why we're doing this." Connor said.

"I don't want to get blasted to bits, and we have nowhere to go." Achilles said.

"We could go to Camp Half-Blood. That place was nice.""Meh. I won't most of my time with people like me; but a bit more barbaric. And I'm a terrible person. I'm shocked you haven't stabbed me yet."

Marcus came over and put down three plates with fat, greasy chips, thin slices of chicken covered with breadcrumbs, and three big glasses of lukewarm coke.

"Thanks. This looks... Nice." Achilles said to Marcus, who smiled. They inhaled their meals within minutes, before walking upstairs to the spare room. Achilles didn't realize how tired he was until he took off his armor and lay down on the bed.

"So... I'll take the bed." Connor said.

Achilles laughed, and threw him a sleeping bag.

"You get the floor. Taylor can take the sofa."

"Thanks, buddy." Connor said.

"What? I'm a gentlemen, and I'm stopping you two from fighting, which would end with a black eye and Taylor sleeping on the sofa."

Achilles closed his eyes and within seconds he fell asleep.

Achilles dreamed of two men playing chess in a marble palace. One man wore a pinstripe suit, and had long, flowing black hair and a beard, and stormy blue eyes. The other was covered in purple robes and black armor, and held a scythe in his hand. He walked over, and looked at the game, and realized the pieces were weird. The pieces weren't normally shaped, and some glowed bright while others were dull. The chess board was giant, with thousands of pieces fighting, and they were all detailed and colored, so the only way he could tell the difference was their bases, half blue and half purple. Scythe wielder's side depicted mostly dull monsters, but he noticed a few humans. His brightest piece was a warrior with a pale scar along his face, and blond hair. The suited man's prices were all human, besides a few bright, large pieces: an owl, a boar, an eagle and a pair of intertwined snakes, as well as a few more. Achilles realized they represented the gods. There were two other bright pieces: a black haired kid standing on tiny green waves, and another black haired kid with a rapier, who was pretty dull compared to the wave kid, but still pretty bright. Achilles realized he was watching a metaphorical war. Zeus and Kronus, the Rebel Commander and greatest Titan, were playing them all like pawns. He noticed a monster, the Minotaur, was about to take a very dull Laistrygonian Giant, who seemed to be on Zeus' side for some reason. Achilles felt a dull throb, and the scene shifted into darkness.

When Achilles awoke, he was lying on the floor of the spare room. He got up and saw Connor, fast asleep on the bed. Achilles picked up Connor with a grunt and threw him onto the floor, before kicking him repeatedly.

"Don't you ever push me out of bed again, or I will skin you alive!"

"What's your problem, Achilles?" Connor said angrily. "You're freaking out, and you didn't even find one of Charlie's feathers wedged in your armor!"

Achilles took the feather out, a flame colored phoenix feather, and threw it at him.

"Pushing me out of bed woke me from an important dream, idiot."

"I had an important dream. Seems the monsters have recruited a giant hot dog. Coincidently, I woke up hungry for a hot dog."

"We should go. I don't like waiting around here."

"I'll get dressed and we'll go."

Hey got dressed and went downstairs, where they found Taylor eating sausages and drinking orange juice. They had breakfast, before saying goodbye to Davis and Marcus. They went outside and mounted their Pegasi. Achilles looked at Connor and Taylor.

Connor wore black tracksuit pants, a white t-shirt and white sneakers that seemed impossibly clean. He still had his Camp Half-Blood beads on.

Taylor wore jeans, a white blouse and white and green sneakers, as well as her Caduceus earrings, and a silver bracelet she had most likely stolen yesterday. She looked pretty cute... No, she was his friend, nothing more. That incident after the labyrinth battle was just an accident. An awesome accident.

Achilles had his armor in his pack and wore a leather jacket, black jeans, Aviator Sunglasses and black combat boots, as well as a bulky steel wristwatch.

He mounted Aithon, who was chewing contentedly on a piece of steak. He rubbed his flaming mane, before looking at Connor and Taylor.

"Ready?"

They nodded, and Aithon burst into the air, soaring above buildings. Achilles held on tightly as Aithon moved around an apartment building and snorted fire at it. He galloped along the sky for a long time, swooping under bridges and narrowly avoiding billboards, spraying flames that singed buildings. Achilles looked back at Connor and his Pegasi. He noticed that what he assumed was the wind was actually Connor's petrified screams.

"For the gods' sake, Achilles! Help me! This horse is insane! Your dad trained him to kill me!"

Achilles looked at the horse, who was galloping pretty perfectly not even doing any dives.

Achilles dropped back and punched Connor in the head."It's a freaking pony! Just sit back and try to enjoy the... Try not to scream."

Achilles flew ahead, and for the rest of the ride all Connor did was whimper


	5. Chapter 5

Achilles, Taylor and Connor arrived in Atlanta as night fell. Aithon landed in an alleyway, where three teenagers approached him, one carrying a bat, two carrying knifes.

"Nice bike, kid. Mind if I take it for a ride?"

Achilles smiled, and stepped out of his way.

"Go ahead."

The teenager tried to get on the horse but Achilles shoved him on and the flames scorched his arms and he screamed. He swung his mace at the second's leg, which flew straight through it his leg. The man jumped back, startled.

"Oh yeah. This thing doesn't kill normal people. Crap."

The second person slashed his knife, and Achilles dodged and punched him repeatedly in the groin, before head butting him. The second guy stabbed at him, and it scraped against his armor before he grabbed a bat and hit him in the chest repeatedly, before knocking him over and leading the flaming Pegasus through the streets. Connor and Taylor's Pegasi landed next to him, and he followed them past a few streets until they found a restaurant with the lights out and no car in the car park.

"We'll break in and get some lunch... Dinner. We'll leave money." Connor said.

"No, no we won't." Taylor said.

"Why?" Connor asked.

"Because we have little money, and this place is fancy, it can afford a minor break-in."

"Achilles?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, we're not paying."

Taylor took out a pick lock and started trying to open the door. Connor nudged Achilles, and whispered angrily in his ear.

"You only sided with her 'cause you like her."

"No I don't."

"Yeah, you do."

"What are you talking about? The door's open!" Taylor asked.

"Fish!" Connor said quickly. "I enjoy cod, don't you?"

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Achilles said, walking into the restaurant. Taylor started flicking on lights, and Achilles went to the kitchen.

"Too late to cook food. Would you be disgusted if I discreetly had bin burgers?"

"Yes. Vey much so." Connor said.

Taylor walked up to a seat and sat down, munching on half a burger.

"Seriously? We've covered ourselves in Drakon poop before and eaten part of a centaur, and this is the line. On another point, this is a fantastic burger. It's so moist and succulent."

Achilles smiled, and went over to the bins, where he pulled out a plate of chips and picked at the cleanest chips, moving grabbing a few ribs and picking them clean. Connor watched and made gag noises every few minutes. In response, Achilles chucked forks at him. After he was finished, he turned on an alarm on his iPod and lay down on a booth.

"Night." He said, and put his head down and fell asleep.

Achilles woke to a heavy knocking on the door. He got out of bed and put on his armor, before looking at his watch. It was half seven, thirty minutes before the restaurant opened. He looked up at Connor, who was sitting still, with an unconscious and tied up man by his feat.

"He came in early to start baking the croissants, and I didn't want to wake you. Taylor's in the kitchen. If you want Jam, there's none. She's eaten her way through the jam. I always wonder where it goes. She should be three hundred pounds."

"Who's knocking on the door?"

"Mailman. Why?"

"Why is he still knocking on the door? Why hasn't he put the mail through the slot?"

"It's a package. I think he's been knocking for about an hour now. He seems like a Laistrygonian Giant. I didn't want to open the door."

The door fell apart, and the monster stepped in. He was a huge, man with a club covered with iron spikes, and a small package in the other. He was covered in tattoos, and wore a white mailman's outfit. Achilles recognized him, but couldn't remember from where. He looked at them, and stopped.

"Special Delivery." He said, waving. "Something smells good."

"He looks like he wants us to eat us." Connor whispered.

"Special Delivery! Sign here!" He said.

Then the giant noticed the tied up owner, and ran towards his van, screaming for help. Achilles followed him and held his mace to his throat, which didn't have the same effect as holding a blade to someone's throat, but worked all the same.

"Don't kill me, I won't tell anyone." He whimpered.

"Get inside!" Achilles growled, and the monster walked inside, his club and the package still in his hands.

The Giant sat down on a booth and it collapsed underneath him.

"Who are you?" Achilles asked.

"Stephen."

"Stephen?"

"Stephen Flesh-Ripper. I deliver mail."

"Shouldn't you be eating demigods, or helping Kronus?"

"Dad says I fight but I want to be a... Mailman!" He said, before breaking down and sobbing.

"I don't know whether to kill it or offer it breakfast." Said Taylor, giving Achilles a croissant.

"I deliver mail. Tied up man needs package. It is soup thermos from his mom. I peeked."

A Roar came from he street, like an enraged cow.

"Oh gods. He's the guy from my dream."

The roar got louder, and a car alarm started.

"The Minotaur's about to eat us. Get the bags, we need to go!"

was sitting still, with an unconscious and tied up man by his feat.

"He came in early to start baking the croissants, and I didn't want to wake you. Taylor's in the kitchen. If you want Jam, there's none. She's eaten her way through the jam. I always wonder where it goes. She should be three hundred pounds."

"Who's knocking on the door?"

"Mailman. Why?"

"Why is he still knocking on the door? Why hasn't he put the mail through the slot?"

"It's a package. I think he's been knocking for about an hour now. He seems like a Laistrygonian Giant. I didn't want to open the door."

The door fell apart, and the monster stepped in. He was a huge, man with a club covered with iron spikes, and a small package in the other. He was covered in tattoos, and wore a white mailman's outfit. Achilles recognized him, but couldn't remember from where. He looked at them, and stopped.

"Special Delivery." He said, waving. "Something smells good."

"He looks like he wants us to eat us." Connor whispered.

"Special Delivery! Sign here!" He said.

Then the giant noticed the tied up owner, and ran towards his van, screaming for help. Achilles followed him and held his mace to his throat, which didn't have the same effect as holding a blade to someone's throat, but worked all the same.

"Don't kill me, I won't tell anyone." He whimpered.

"Get inside!" Achilles growled, and the monster walked inside, his club and the package still in his hands.

The Giant sat down on a booth and it collapsed underneath him.

"Who are you?" Achilles asked.

"Stephen."

"Stephen?"

"Stephen Flesh-Ripper. I deliver mail."

"Shouldn't you be eating demigods, or helping Kronus?"

"Dad says I fight but I want to be a... Mailman!" He said, before breaking down and sobbing.

"I don't know whether to kill it or offer it breakfast." Said Taylor, giving Achilles a croissant.

"I deliver mail. Tied up man needs package. It is soup thermos from his mom. I peeked."

A Roar came from the street, like an enraged cow.

"Oh gods. He's the guy from my dream."

The roars got louder and a car alarm started.

"The Minotaur's about to kill all of us. We have to get out of here!"

They grabbed their bags and ran out to the alleyway where the horses had slept. It was empty.

"Where are the horses?"

"They're out galloping! They were bored!" Connor said.

"Get the Mail Van?" Taylor asked.

Achilles nodded, and ran out to the van. The giant, Stephen, had the keys in his hand and a huge, bull-man stood in front of him. The Minotaur. His lower half was covered with leather and bronze armour, and he held a huge double sided axe, with a single, blood stained beaded necklace hanging from it.

Achilles jumped up and hit him in the head. He roared, and swung his axe at him. Achilles dodged but Stephen ran past him and knocked him over. Te Minotaur swung and Achilles rolled to the side, but the Axe caught him in the shoulder. He screamed, and an explosive arrow hit him in the chest, and Greek Fire engulfed him. Taylor grabbed him and pulled him into the van. The Minotaur charged, and picked up the front of the van. Taylor slashed off its ear and stabbed it through the about, and it let to, and Stephen the Laistrygonian Giant floored it. They does forward and the Minotaur roared behind them. He gave chase, and Achilles passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

When Achilles came through, he was in the back of a van. He tried to get up, but there was a sharp pain in his shoulder, causing him to yelp.

Taylor, who was sitting in the back in the van next to him, gave him a canteen.

"Drink up. You need to keep hydrated."

Achilles drank in huge gulps, before giving her back the canteen.

"The axe blade splintered against your armour. There are three shards of celestial bronze in your shoulder, so Ambrosia and Nectar won't help. Stephen is going to get us to an old friend of his who'll help us out. Of course, he has a few things to do first..."

"Like what?"

"He has eighteen more packages to deliver."

"Oh, for the gods' sake! Dude shoved me into the Minotaur!"

Connor popped his head from the front passenger seat, where he sat next to Stephen.

"You got beat up bad, dude. He was all like "MOOO!" and swinging his axe. Two hours ago and I'm still excited. Yeah, it was good. By the way, you might have gangrene. Taylor wanted to take you to a hospital, but you know... Waste of time and police would get involved."

"Are you saying my life's a waste of time?"

"No, saving it is."

"If my shoulder wasn't messed up, I'd kick you into next week."

"You can kick without using your shoulder. Plus, if your shoulder wasn't messed up we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?"

"Go to the crows, sunshine."

They van stopped suddenly, and Achilles yelled.

"Take it easy!"

"Yes." Stephen said.

He took a small blue package in his hands and walked to a small house. A white Labrador ran at him and started barking, and he pulled out his club and started smashing it against the pavement while screaming. The dog whimpered and ran away, and Stephen smiled.

"Bad dog!" He called after it.

He walked up to the door and knocked, and gave the owner the package when the door opened. Then he turned and waked back to the van, before picking up a cat and climbing into the cat. He rubbed the cats head, before swallowing it hole.

"Steve!" Connor said. "Did you just eat the cat?!"

"I'm sorry. You wanted some?"

"You can't just... Forget it."

Achilles smiled, and lay his head back to get some rest, while trying to take his mind off the pain in his arm.

Eighteen packages take a long time to deliver when the delivery man stops every ten minutes to chase birds, or eat cats. By the time the delivery route was finished, it was getting late and it wasn't worth driving to Orlando. So they went over to Stephen's apartment. Achilles had some painkillers, nectar and ambrosia, and looked for a place to sleep in the apartment. It was a dump. There were piles of clothes, newspapers, shopping trolleys, pretty much a Hoarders dream. Achilles found a mattress on top of a life sized plastic wolf statue, right next to a cat farm, where each one was labelled "Breakfast", "Lunch" or "Dinner".

Achilles looked at Stephen, who slept in a wardrobe with a sheepskin rug inside. He sheepishly apologised for nearly killing him, and then fell asleep. Achilles closed his eyes and lay still, and clenched his teeth and tried to distract himself from the pain. He don't think he'd get any sleep, but he fell asleep after a few minutes.

Achilles dreamed of two men on the beach, next to a big, white and old house. It was night there, so he wondered why they were on lawn chairs down at the beach rather than inside. One had a dragon tattoo alongside the side of his face, a golden monster that was roaring in triumph. The other wore what looked like ceremonial robs and had tiny golden orbs floating around his fingers. He had a light burn going across his face.

"Next time you're feeding it."

"Yeah, yeah. You get mad when the cards don't go your way."

"You always win. I feed the reptile, I interrogate the kid, I organise the deals. Speaking of which, the Titan upped the bounty. Half a million dollars."

"I still think we should ask the kids mother. She's some kind of big shot. Could pay more."

"Maybe. But I don't like the idea of messing with Monsters. I was thinking of retiring."

Achilles watched as the scene dissolved, and he was in the back seat of an SUV. It had expensive, leather seats, blackened windows, TV's built into the back of the headrests and the boot had an oak weapons rack built in, with spears, swords and a huge assault rifle. The passengers were two Dracaena in full Bronze armour, and a man in an expensive white silk suit driving. The suit was shockingly clean, and had a name stitched onto the pocket. He couldn't tell what it said, but there was a "P", an "O" and either an "M or a "W". He couldn't tell, the only one who could read English without huge problems in the group was Connor, and even he struggled. He had slicked back black hair, and grey eyes. He was smoking a cigar, and seemed to emanate the sense of "Rich Idiot". He pulled out a map of Atlanta, and tapped on his destination. Some tiny, insignificant street no one should care about. So why did he?

"We should reach here by midnight, if traffic's good."

"Traffic's never good." One of the Dracaena hissed angrily.

"Why were we chosen to guard "Mr Negotiator"? Carting around business gifts, proposals, making slick deals while there's a war going on!"

"Hush now, ladies. We're securing allies, war assets and friends. You're doing ten times the amount any soldier could do. And if you ask me, they chose you two to help me because of your looks."

One smiled, but only for a second.

"Well OK, then. But we need to get something to eat first."

"Sure, sure. But does anyone else feel that? It's the presence of prying eyes. Well we've shown you our intentions, Peeking Tom. We're going to convince some… business partners."

He chuckled, and clicked his fingers with a grin.

Achilles woke with a start. It was early, around seven. The others were still asleep, so he found Stephen's wallet and took out a twenty dollar bill, before going over to the cupboard, and pulling out a towel, which he fashioned into a sling, which took about a half hour.. He put on some jeans, combat boots and a black hoodie, before walking down the stairs to the lobby, where a receptionist barely out of her teens looked at him critically.

"What do you want?"

"Any good places I can get breakfast around here?"

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead. I poured gasoline over them and set them alight. Like birthday candles on the cake they didn't get me." He said with a smile. "I broke my arm beating their bodies.

"You don't have to be rude. There's a diner across the street."

"Thanks." He said.

He walked across the street and into a small diner that looked pretty nice. He sat up on the counter and looked at the girl at the counter.

"Hiya!" She said happily. "What'll it be?"

"Sausages, toast and orange juice, please."

"Will your parents be paying for the meal?"

"Not in person. But it's their money. They're still asleep, told me to get breakfast."

"Okay, sure!" She said.

Achilles searched his pockets, and found his trusty mace, in knuckleduster form. He pulled it on, though he didn't know how easy it would be to fight one-handed. This girl seemed too happy to be human. He waited, and she brought over his breakfast. He struggled his way through the toast, eating the first piece dry, before asking for marmalade and adding it on, which was pretty time consuming. He drank the orange juice in huge gulps. He ordered a Hot Chocolate, and took sips of it while making his way through the sausages. He heard a big car pull up, and noticed three people enter the diner. Two were armoured Dracaena with spears slung over their shoulders. One was the man in the suit. The Suit sat down next to him, and ordered an omelette and a black coffee. They ate in silence, until he pulled out a package wrapped in brown paper, about the size of a baby's head. It looked heavy.

"How's the quest going, Mr… I'm sorry, Achilles? I'm not familiar with your last name."

"I believe it was something stupid. I can't remember exactly, but I generally remember a "buh" sound before I was left on the side of the road as a kid. And who are you?"

He smiled, and ran his finger across the name on his breast pocket, while spelling it.

"P-R-O-M-E-T-H-E-U-S. It's Prometheus."

"OK." Achilles said. "I don't know where this conversation goes from here."

"I have a business proposal. On my part, I want your services. Deliver Ezio to me. I know you've been thrust into a war you have nothing to do with. You shouldn't have to suffer for the sins of your father. Neither should your friends. I can promise you wealth, a place to live out your days. A Villa in Brazil. A Vineyard in France. A Castle in Ireland. An apartment in Germany. Whatever you need, I can promise you."

"I thought Ezio was already in Titan Hands."

"No, no. He's been kidnapped by some mercenaries. Two demigods. They're offering him to us, but they're… untrustworthy at best. They're considering giving the kid to his mother, and rumour is they're barely feeding him. You're my back-up plan." He smiled, revealing perfect, shiny white teeth.

"What if I say no?"

"I'm not like my Uncle. I make business deals. They're easy to refuse. I swear on the River Styx that no harm will come to you from me or my associates on my part if you refuse the deal."

"OK then. No deal."

"Are you sure? I can offer you anything."

Anything. That was tempting. Achilles could achieve his wildest dreams if he betrayed some guys he barely knew. His family, but still guys he barely knew. He thought for a few minutes, chewing on his sausages silently.

"No deal." He said, grimacing as his dreams of fame and fortune whisked away.

"OK then, if you're really sure. But take my card. Just tap it thrice, and I'll be there."

He took out a white and gold business card, with the words "Prometheus. Negotiator, Business Leader. Friend." on the front, along with a small gold Omega in the corner with "OLYMPUS" written under it.

"My mistake." He said. "One of my older cards."

He tapped it, and the Omega morphed into a small purple scythe.

"There we go. Remember: Tap thrice. Goodbye, Achilles. And please, take a business gift."

He pushed over the brown parcel, and smiled. He walked off, flanked by his dracaena bodyguards. Achilles watched them leave, before ripping open the package. It was a chunk of Celestial Bronze, with a small note. "Enjoy this gift from Dawn-hammer mine. Prometheus. Stay in touch."

Achilles took it, and began walking back to the hotel.


End file.
